


Sunshine Boy and Rainbow Girl

by Saccha



Series: Adrinette April 2018 [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Persona Fusion, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-25 01:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14367615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saccha/pseuds/Saccha
Summary: A collection of unconnected one-shots for Adrinette April, 2018Latest chapter: Marinette won't fail Adrien. She'll save him from the nightmare world he's trapped in. Persona AU.





	1. April Showers

**Author's Note:**

> Adrinette April, Day 3: Fencing

Fencing had been brutal. On top of regular practice, M. D’Argencourt had kept Adrien behind to train for his upcoming tournament. A whole extra hour of lunging and parrying had left Adrien a shaking, sweaty mess. He shuffled into the boys’ locker room and headed towards the shower.

He had his shirt off and his hands on his pants when Marinette burst into the room and slid across the floor with a look of grim determination on her face.

“Alright!” She clenched her fist. “I’ve got this! Tikki-”

“Um,” Adrien said.

Marinette spun around, lost her balance, and fell to the floor. She scrambled backwards, gaping up at him in horror.

“A-Adrien! W-what are you doing here?”

“In the boys’ locker room? I was about to take a shower.” He gestured to his fencing equipment on the bench and quirked his eyebrow. “Fencing just ended. What are  _ you _ doing here?”

“Uhhhhhhh.....” Her gaze seemed to be stuck on his chest. She blinked and shook her head. Her eyes snapped back up to meet his.

“Ah, uh, well... I was just- I mean, I thought that- um, you see...” She trailed off and looked helplessly at him with her large, blue eyes. (Not for the first time, Adrien thought they were pretty, almost as pretty as Ladybug’s)

“Chloe Bourgeois, come out and I’ll show you what  _ real _ ugliness is!” Snarled a booming voice coming from outside the school.

“The akuma! Yes! I was hiding from the akuma! It was so late that I didn’t think anyone would be in here.” Marinette laughed awkwardly. “I’ll just... go hide somewhere else now.”

She bolted out of the room. After the door slammed shut, Adrien heard a muffled scream from the other side. 

“Why does this keep happening to me?!” She moaned.

...Did she walk in on people changing often?

Adrien shrugged. 

“Claws out!”


	2. XVI The Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette won't fail Adrien. She'll rescue him from this nightmare world he's trapped in.
> 
> Persona AU
> 
> Adrinette April, Day 2: Gaming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've never played any of the Persona games, they are a series of long, dark, plot-heavy JRPGs about a group of teenagers in over their heads. There are themes of corruption, betrayal, and despair; and overcoming with friendship, hope, and willpower. While they are very good games, and I do recommend them, they are not for everyone.
> 
> I played Persona 3, 4, and 5, and I drew upon the common elements from them to make the world in this AU.
> 
> For those who haven't played Persona, all you need to know is that there is another shadow world alongside our own, and people can gain Personas (a kind of spirit that gives you the ability to use magic) if their willpower is strong enough.

Surprise is the keynote of this card, symbolized by the flash of lightning. Unhappiness, deception, disgrace and ruin are its portents, and the evil it brings usually takes the form of a sudden and unforeseen calamity. If reversed, its evil influence is lessened considerably. If placed near a card of deniers, especially seven, it foreshadows, strangely enough, an unexpected legacy. 

Complete Book of Fortune Telling by Gramercy Books

 

The Tower is commonly interpreted as meaning danger, crisis, sudden change, destruction, higher learning, and liberation.

  
  


* * *

 

Lightning struck the top of the tower with a deafening boom. Stone debris rained down, smashing into the pile of rubble below, sending up dust and scattering gravel. The sharp smell of ozone permeated the air.

Marinette regarded the monolithic tower in front of her, thin lipped, gripping her bo staff tight in her hands. Nino and Alya shifted nervously beside her, their faces lined with worry.

Rain plastered Marinette’s hair to her face, and the whipping wind cut through her soaked clothes. She blinked away the raindrops that had collected on her eyelashes. Her hands were numb and her feet throbbed from the cold.

A man tumbled from the top of the tower; Nino swore and jumped back, but the man disappeared before he hit the ground.

Another strong gust of wind howled past them, nearly knocking them over.

Alya shivered. “Let’s get this over with as fast as we can.”

Marinette nodded with grim determination.

_ Don’t worry Adrien. We’re coming for you. _

  
  


* * *

 

Marinette bit her lip at the sight of Adrien slumped across his desk. She hesitated for a moment, then slid into the seat next to him.

“Hey Adrien,” she said quietly. “How’re you doing?”

Adrien rolled his head to the side to look up at her. He had bags under his bloodshot eyes, and his lips were chapped and peeling.

“I... haven’t been sleeping well. Nightmares.”

Marinette winced. Yeah, she could imagine what those nightmares were about.

“I’m sorry.”

Adrien laboriously lifted himself up onto his elbows, and rested his forehead in his hands.

“I mean, I can fall asleep, but it’s not restful. When I wake up it’s like I haven’t slept at all.”

Marinette couldn’t speak through the lump in her throat. God... Adrien... She awkwardly patted him on the shoulder. He knocked her hand away.

“Don’t touch me.”

Marinette flinched away from him. She put her hands in her lap and gripped the fabric of her pants tightly.

“I really don’t want to talk right now either. Sound hurts. Light hurts. I just want to go home and lie in the dark.” He laughed bitterly. “But if I do that I might fall asleep again.

“Sorry,” Marinette whispered.

Adrien nodded and put his head back on the desk. Marinette fidgeted and tried not to cry. She had to save him. She couldn’t fail him, not like she failed Ivan. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if another person died because she didn’t do enough.

  
  


* * *

 

“Lady Luck!” Marinette cried. Her Persona burst forth from her, arms outstretched, and a golden light enveloped the green skinned, dead-eyed, twitching demons that surrounded her, and disintegrated them.

Another horde of demons rushed in, gaping vacantly at her. One charged her, its limbs undulating, with a guttural moan. 

Marinette expertly rolled out of the way. She made a noise of frustration deep in her throat. She didn’t have time for this!

An arrow pierced the demon, knocking it back, and Alya ran up to Marinette’s side.

“Go. We’ll take care of this.” She said.

Marinette nodded and made for the stairwell, dodging through the demons and knocking any that came too close out of the way with her staff.

She took each stair two, three steps at a time. A rock slipped under her foot and she tripped and smashed her knee on the stairs. She ignored the pain and let the momentum carry her forward.

When she reached the next landing she skidded to a stop to avoid crashing into a black cat prowling there.

She braced her bo staff in front of her and shifted her feet apart into a fighting stance. But the cat only blinked his glowing green eyes at her and lashed his tail behind him.

Footsteps echoed down from farther up the stairwell. The cat whipped his head around towards the direction the sound was coming from and hissed, ears flat. He fled towards the inner wall, leaped, and, somehow,  _ phased _ through the masonry.

Marinette barely had any time to process this before a girl appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She was pale, with long blonde hair, and wore a royal blue dress with a white sash. Marinette couldn’t place her age. Maybe eight, nine years old?

She looked the epitome of innocence.

Marinette did not lower her guard.

“Can I help you?” The girl said.

“I- where’s Adrien?”

The girl cocked her head to the side. “Adrien’s my friend now. He doesn’t need you anymore. Please go away.”

“No. I’m not leaving without him.” Marinette adjusted her grip on her staff.

“Well, if that’s the case...” Her lips curled into the smallest facsimile of a smile. “Before you go, would you please die for me?”

Giant spears fell from the sky and pierced the stone floor. Marinette barely got out of the way in time. She jumped forward and swung her staff at the girl. The girl neatly sidestepped out of the way, but Marinette followed through on the attack and struck her across the stomach.

The girl staggered back with an ‘oof.’ She attempted to block Marinette’s next blow, but it was clear that she was not accustomed to close combat. 

Marinette didn’t hesitate. She jammed the end of her staff into the girl’s abdomen, knocking her to the ground, and summoned her Persona to deliver the finishing blow.

The girl dissolved into a bubbling, black shadow that dissipated when it hit the floor.

Marinette leaned against the wall for a moment, sweat rolling down her face and falling to her shirt.

After she regained her breath, she sprinted to the staircase and staggered up it. She was ending this today.   
  
  


 

* * *

 

Adrien glared at the three friends with bitter contempt. His eyes glowed yellow and dark energy crackled around him.

“What the  _ hell _ do you think you’re doing here?” He spat.

“We’re here for you, dude,” Nino said.

“Ha! Like you care. Like any of you care. Like  _ anyone _ cares.”

“We do care about you, Adrien. You’re our friend. You’re important to us.” Marinette said, stepping closer to him.

Adrien flinched away.

“Sure. All anyone cares about is what they can get from me. Chloe uses me as a prop. I’m more employee than son to my father. I can’t do anything that might damage my  _ image _ . That would impact sales, now wouldn’t it? Don’t you dare say you care about me.”

Marinette let her bo staff fall to the ground. It clattered on the floor and rolled away. She cautiously walked forward, closing the distance between them, and took both of his hands in hers.

“If that’s true, then tell me, what are we getting from you besides your friendship? We’re friends with you because we like being with you.”

Adrien stared down at their joined hands, his expression wavering. Then his face hardened and he shoved Marinette away.

“Liar. You’re a designer. You’re using me for my connections in the industry.”

He summoned a writing ball of darkness in his hand and lunged towards her. Marinette scrambled out of the way, slipping a bit on the polished floor, and Adrien instead hit a portrait of himself smiling and perfect. The portrait crumbled to dust under his touch.

“But I didn’t even like you the first time we met,” Marinette said calmly. “I thought you were a spoiled brat, remember? If I was just using you for your connections, wouldn’t I have pretended to like you anyway? But you proved me wrong. You were kind to me when I didn’t deserve it.”

Adrien panted heavily, shaking. He stared back at her with despair and what looked like a flicker of hope.

Marinette took another step towards him, holding out her empty hands. “That’s what I want from you. Your kindness, your company, your happiness.”

“Yeah man,” Nino said. “I became your friend because I like you. Just hanging out, doing nothing, is fun when it’s with you.”

“Even if I didn’t like you for you, which I do,” Alya piped up. “I’d like you just because you make Nino and Marinette happy. Anyone who can do that has to be a good person.”

Adrien stood frozen, his eyes darting between the three friends. 

“No, no, no. I don’t need you.” He said. “I’m better off alone.”

“Is that what you really think?” A nasally voice said. The black cat from earlier sauntered in and sat down in between Adrien and Marinette. “If you keep walking this road you’ll die. If that’s what you really want, no one can stop you.”

The cat grinned up at Adrien with sharp teeth. “But I don’t think you do. I don’t think you  _ really _ believe everything you’re saying. If you did, I wouldn’t be here. I only exist because you won’t let go of your hope Now, tell me kid, what do you want?”

“I- I don’t want to be alone,” Adrien said in a thick voice. “I want to be loved. I want friends.”

The cat nodded. Then with one great leap and a flash of green light, he merged into Adrien’s chest.

Adrien threw up his arms around his head protectively, and the dark energy melted from him. When he lowered his arms, his eyes were green.

“Marinette, Nino, Alya, you... You came for me.”

And he smiled, trembling but sincere.

_ You looked inside yourself and faced your twisted fear and your despair. _

Adrien turned to face the voice coming from behind him. A large, floating, black cat with a white spot on its chest materialized out of the air.

_ To triumph over the darkness and hatred in your soul takes strength. Strength that many do not have. To rely on others is not weakness. To desire love is not selfish. Beside your friends, you will prevail. I am thou, thou art I. _

“Cat Sidhe,” Adrien breathed.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cat Sidhe is pronounced "Kaht Shi" and is sometimes written as Cat Sith or Cat Si. 
> 
> Kwamis are the spirits of willpower and hope. Everyone who has had a miraculous has a Persona in this AU. And yes, Gabriel is the bad guy. Only he's worse because this is a Persona game.
> 
> Marinette's Persona is Lady Luck, and her arcana is Strength.  
> Alya's Persona is Reynard, and her arcana is Temperance.  
> Nino's Persona is Kurma, and his arcana is The Chariot.
> 
> The demons that rush Marinette and the little girl are actual enemies from the games. The green skinned demons are mokoi, an Australian evil spirit who eat children at night. The girl is Alice, a girl who died young and now kills other children so she can have friends. (She's also partially based off Alice from Alice in Wonderland) Here she uses her signature skill [Die For Me!](https://youtu.be/P43o6xE4kcQ), a insta-death skill with a high success chance.

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me at [my tumblr.](https://sacchariwrites.tumblr.com/)


End file.
